^^^^^ +1
kemaro:
update…on wednesday the 4th January the case was heard in my absence, i was fined £350, £15 victim sur charge and £60 costs, totalling £425 to be paid by the 1st February 2012, also my licence is to be endorsed with 4 points, I am not happy with this decision and would like to appeal it, also there is no way on earth that i have £425 to pay the courts , i feel it is very excessive, and 4 pints could well mean me losing my job as an hgv driver, what can i do about this , in hindsight maybe i should of accepted the fine and points at the time but as i was not speeding why should i. i feel it has been dealt with very unfairly in my absence…any advice please
Well, seeing as how you’ve ignored every other bit of advice you’ve been given, I don’t know if you’ll take any notice of this, BUT, if you can’t afford the fine you MUST get in contact with the court & make sone arrangements to pay by installments. If you don’t, you could find yourself either in court again for non payment, or, they could send in the bailiffs. Either way your credit rating is stuffed & you’ll have a heck of a job getting credit in the future.
On saturaday the 18th I was stopped in my local area by a traffic police car, I was driving along a stretch of road which is a 30 and a straight road across the see front. (don’t know if this link will work )
google.co.uk/webhp?sa=N&hl=e … fp=f068e0c
use street view to see the road, he was by the parking area with the flags…
anyway the officer was parked in a parking area as I was driving towards him, I passed him and went up the hill, he followed me up the hill round the roundabout towards the town and put his lights on, I had two friends in the car and we had no idea why we were being pulled as all my paperwork is in place.
I pulled into a picnic area and he called me into his car, he was all ready with his ticket book and asked if I was in a hurry, so I said no, he asked what I thought the limit was across that road, I said 30 although it used to be a 40, me and the boys were just talking about it as it changed. he said that’s right its 30 and you were exceeding the limit, I said I was not, he said I’m on his gun exceeding 30, I asked to see the gun and the speed as the screen was blank, he reluctantly showed me , pressed a few buttons and a 44+ came up on the gun.
he said I accelerated to 44 then slowed, if I kept under 42 he would have referred me to a speed awareness course, I queried the gun reading as I had not been speeding and asked to see the video footage of my car doing that speed on that road, he said I couldn’t as he was not recording!
I told him I’m an hgv driver and don’t speed so I don’t get points on my licence as it would affect my job,he continued to write the ticket and said I should of known better & he was issuing me with it and I had the right to contest it in court if I wish, at this point I co operated as I could feel there was tension building up and said I would contest it in court…
I have since found out that he does not have to have his recording equipment on and his competence in using the gun and experience as a traffic officer is enough evidence alone for the courts to decide that I am guilty!
I still intend to contest the ticket and plead not guilty as I was not speeding, I feel if his sole purpose of being there that evening was to catch speeding drivers then he should be recording in order to back up his allegations…
any advice?
Out of interest, what speed do you admit to doing? 
i was doing 30… maybe less as i just pulled out from the garage and i have a 1998 diesel audi a4 that doesn’t accelerate to rapidly…
You can contest it -
the others in the car can confirm your speed as you asked them to check it when you saw him - just as a bit of a laugh etc
if they can confirm this then you should be able to overturn his word - which is only as good as any other citizen with a good record - ie no points or convictions .
as you rightly say he should have been recording to back himself up in court .
i suggest you visit pepipoo or what ever the site is called as they have loads of advice.
having successfully overturned a mobile phone charge and a dangerous driving charge i recommend you do your research and challenge it .
80% get thrown out - remember you have to be guilty 100% - if there is any doubt then the case is history.
regards
Steve
I’m sure your entitled to request the calibration info for the machine that he used, sounds as though its definitely worth contesting though, good luck with it
if it was me and i was genuinely doing 30mph then i would contest it to, for sure. if i was guilty then no problems , caught bang to rights…
see a solictor who deals with this sort of stuff, if you win you should get your costs back.its good that you have some witnesses to.
gm:
i suggest you visit pepipoo
So do I.
I hope you contest it and win. I’ve got no personel issues with police but out of the few encounters ive had with traffic, they just seem full of themselves on a power trip. And as an “experienced” officer I would have thought he could tell the difference between a car doing 30 and a car doing 44.
the road is a busy stretch of road and prone to speeding motorists , I intend to fight it all the way, after talking with some locals it seems quite a few drivers were clocked that evening by the same the copper in the same place, if I was speeding I would accept it but I wasn’t and it’s frustrating knowing that I could loose because they believe him not me…
I would suggest that if he had equipment capable of recording your speed and chose not to use that feature then you would have a very good case, especially if you had witnesses to the fact you had not been speeding.
Hope you get a fair minded magistrate.
gm:
You can contest it -
the others in the car can confirm your speed as you asked them to check it when you saw him - just as a bit of a laugh etc
if they can confirm this then you should be able to overturn his word - which is only as good as any other citizen with a good record - ie no points or convictions .
Steve
Yes it can be contested but don’t be under any illusion that the occifers word (when backed up by an approved device) is the same as you or me when in front of the magistrates…
Go here forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?s=9 … howforum=5 for real advice! You will have to register.
Just out of interest, were you given any paperwork? Fixed penalty? Hort1 producer?
I was issued with a fixed penalty notice for 3 points and a £60 fine, I have to surrender my licence at the police station, and then I can fill in the back and ask to be dealt with by a court.
Melchett:
Yes it can be contested but don’t be under any illusion that the occifers word (when backed up by an approved device) is the same as you or me when in front of the magistrates…
Yes but the Copper has made the decision not to record the evidence his “approved device” has given him therefore under UK law this evidence has to be based upon the word of the officer against the word of the defendant and three witnesses, no competition.
When you win, a strong letter should be sent to the boss of this ■■■■ in uniform.
kemaro:
I was issued with a fixed penalty notice for 3 points and a £60 fine, I have to surrender my licence at the police station, and then I can fill in the back and ask to be dealt with by a court.
I’d be tempted to bite the bullet mate, your word against a traffic cop with speed gun■■? By all means take it to court but I don’t fancy your chances… & you face an increased fine if they find against you + all associated costs! Up to you, get on pepipoo using the link above!
on the notice it just says excess speed 30mph zone…
schrodingers cat:
Yes but the Copper has made the decision not to record the evidence his “approved device” has given him therefore under UK law this evidence has to be based upon the word of the officer against the word of the defendant and three witnesses, no competition.When you win, a strong letter should be sent to the boss of this [zb] in uniform.
Can I come & live in your world? The coppers “word” + an approved device trumps just about everything!
kemaro:
on the notice it just says excess speed 30mph zone…
You will be very lucky to win if taken to court unless you have some extraordinary evidence that the “trained police officer” with gun is wrong!
Up to you, &, yes it stinks, but I wouldn’t go near court… pepipoo, see what they say!
Melchett:
kemaro:
I was issued with a fixed penalty notice for 3 points and a £60 fine, I have to surrender my licence at the police station, and then I can fill in the back and ask to be dealt with by a court.I’d be tempted to bite the bullet mate, your word against a traffic cop with speed gun■■? By all means take it to court but I don’t fancy your chances… & you face an increased fine if they find against you + all associated costs! Up to you, get on pepipoo using the link above!
why should I accept it when I was not speeding…
I think it’s wrong that in this day and age with all the modern technology available and the equipment provided in the car that the officers word and saying that was the speed on the gun is good enough, if he has the equipment available then it should be used, I think far to many people don’t fight for this reason, the fact that the officer can say you were doing that speed , lets remember that tickets issued is a good thing for him and fines from speeding is a good source of income, it’s a biased unfair situation.